CompTIA
SY0-301 · Question #619
SY0-301 Question #619: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation
The correct answer is A: Unmatched key pairs. Unmatched key pairs occur when the public key published for a user does not correspond to the private key they hold, preventing others from verifying signatures and the user from decrypting received messages.
Question
Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of users being unable to verify a single user's email signature and that user being unable to decrypt sent messages?
Options
- AUnmatched key pairs
- BCorrupt key escrow
- CWeak public key
- DWeak private key
Explanation
Unmatched key pairs occur when the public key published for a user does not correspond to the private key they hold, preventing others from verifying signatures and the user from decrypting received messages.
Common mistakes.
- B. Key escrow stores backup copies of keys for authorized recovery; corruption would affect recovery scenarios but would not cause both signature verification failure and decryption failure simultaneously.
- C. A weak public key reduces cryptographic strength but does not cause complete decryption failure or prevent signature verification.
- D. A weak private key reduces security against brute-force attacks but still functions for signing and decryption as long as the key pair is matched.
Concept tested. PKI key pair mismatch signature and decryption failure
Reference. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/public-private-key-pairs
Community Discussion
No community discussion yet for this question.